Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland clinched the International Women's Open title at Eastbourne defeating Nadia Petrova 6-4 6-7 (11) 6-4 in today’s final.

Fourth-seeded Radwanska took the first set, but didn’t convert three match points in the second set and Petrova leveled on her fourth set point. The final set was also close, but the 19-year-old Radwanska secured the decisive break at 5-4 and served out for victory.

Winning her third title of the year, after Pattaya and Istanbul, world No.11 Radwanska joins Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the only players to have won three titles in 2008. (source: BBC, photo via Yahoo)

Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was defeated in the second round of the Eastbourne International Women's Open by Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki. Final score: 6-2 6-2.

It was Kuznetsova’s first and last match on grass prior to Wimbledon.

"At least I've played some and I have a few days to practice," said the Russian. "I'm very disappointed because I hoped to play a few more matches, but this is tennis and it can happen." Read more »

World No.1 Ana Ivanovic has withdrawn from next week's International Women's Open at Eastbourne.

The official reason for Ivanovic’s withdrawal is a problem with her abductor. However, the Serb also claims to be mentally exhausted after winning her first Grand Slam title on Saturday, and doesn’t feel ready to compete yet.

"I'm very sorry to to anyone who was hoping to see me play in Eastbourne," said the 20-year-old Ivanovic. "I've heard great things about the tournament and I was looking forward to going there, spending some time near the sea, and preparing for Wimbledon." (source: Ana Ivanovic's official website)

Saturday was the finishing day of two grass-court events – the $600,000 International Women’s Open and the $175,000 Ordina Open. Finals at both tournaments were tough three-setters; at the International Women’s Open Justine Henin defeated Amelie Mauresmo 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), while at Ordina Open Anna Chakvetadze beat Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3.

Top seed Justine Henin of Belgium has defended her Eastbourne title assuring us that she’s a strong favorite for Wimbledon after defeating France’s Amelie Mauresmo, reigning champion of the upcoming grand slam.

To reach the final, the 25-year-old Belgian beat Agnieszka Radwanska, Nicole Vaidisova, and Marion Bartoli. Read more »

Saturday we will watch a match of two superb players, seeds No. 1 and No. 2. Justine Henin – top-ranked player in the world and the defending champion at the Eastbourne International grasscourt tournament; Amelie Mauresmo — ranked fourth in the world and the 2006 Wimbledon champion.

Justine Henin of Belgium had a 59-minute-long semifinal match against No. 8 seed Marion Bartoli, seeing off her opponent 6-1 6-3 to reach the final.

If the Belgian wins the 2007 Eastbourne International she will be the first woman since Chanda Rubin in 2002 and 2003 to lift this trophy in successive years. Read more »

The first known semifinalist of the Eastbourne International grass-court tournament was the defending champion Justine Henin, who crushed fifth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 6-2 6-2.

I had expected much more from this match. Vaidisova serves well, so I thought the match would be much more undecided, but her serve had let her down, and she had no other weapons to use against the Belgian top seed. Within the first 20 minutes Vaidisova was 5-0 down, having held only one game point.

In the second quarterfinal match eight-seeded Marion Bartoli defeated fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva 6-1 6-0. This is Bartoli’s second consecutive win over the Russian, the previous one having been in this month’s Roland Garros. Furthermore, the Frenchwoman is now even with Dementieva on grass, 1-1.

FIRST SEMIFINAL: Henin vs. Bartoli >> So far, they’ve played only once, and that was four years ago. Henin defeated Bartoli on the hard-courts of Toronto. But in this case, the stats are not necessary; it’s clear who the favorite in this match is. Read more »